Medical Guidelines

Please review precautions below- Consulting ceremony personnel and/or your doctor is advised if you are taking certain medications and/or drugs. Failure to comply may result in serious injury, death and/or other complications.

Important Info

–Every participant is fully responsible for informing our organizers about their physical and psychological medical history and past/current drug use. 

–You must consult Temple of the Four Winds at least one month prior to attending if you are under treatment or being monitored by a psychiatrist, undergoing a course of psycho-pharmaceutical medicines or using drugs (e.g., heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, opiates) or have had the mentioned issues in the past.

–The use of other teacher plants, drugs (e.g., mushrooms, marijuana, DMT, LSD) is strongly unwelcome in most cases; please contact us in case of any questions.

–If you have untreated tuberculosis, weak heart or liver conditions, or are pregnant/breastfeeding, have any other health issues that may potentially be dangerous in combination with Ayahuasca, please consult us in advance.

Psychological Safety: If you have bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, Please read:

It is important to take psychological safety into consideration. People with personality disorders or a history of mental disorders (such as borderline, bipolar, schizophrenia etc) can be at risk when participating in an Ayahuasca Ceremony. Temple of the Four Winds carries out a screening questionnaire for all potential participants that evaluates the presence of the above-mentioned risk factors. Ensuring a controlled environment in which to work with Ayahuasca, as well as adequately integrating the experience during and after the workshop- are key to reducing any Aya-related risks. Working with experienced Medicine Men, Women and facilitators to ensure that any unforeseen events are dealt with in a professional, caring and controlled manner is also a critical factor in reducing risks. The safety of our guests is of utmost importance and ensures that all measures, including 24-hour supervision, are adopted as and where necessary.

Provided precautions have been diligently taken, working with Ayahuasca is safe. Facilitating over 300 guests over the last year, we have an exemplary track record that no serious issues (physically or psychologically) have ever arisen.

It is important to trust that the Aya experience has the potential to cleanse the body and heal the body of ailments. Ayahuasca is classified as a MAOI (Monoamine oxidase inhibitor), which can become dangerous when combined with certain medications. Please consult with ceremony personnel and/or your doctor about your medication(s) and the interactions it may have with an MAOI. 

It is ideal to have no traces of medication present in the body at the time of ceremony. Antidepressants, SSRIs, mood stabilizers,  and anything else that is not necessary for life support should be gradually cut out about two weeks prior to ceremony and for five days after.

There are certain medications that must be avoided with Ayahuasca which can be potentially life-threatening. The combination of Ayahuasca with other MAOIs, other serotonin agonists or precursors pose a severe risk of a life-threatening serotonin syndrome episode occurring. This can include interaction with pharmaceutical drugs and medications, over-the-counter medicine and certain herbs. POTENTIAL MAOI medications and medications alike that should not be combined with Ayahuasca include but are not limited to: 

 

Abilify •Actifed • Adderall • Alaproclate • Albuterol (Proventil, Ventolin) • Amantadine hydrochloride (Symmetrel) • Ambien • Amineptine • Amitriptaline • Amoxapine (Asendin) • Atomoxedine • Baclofen •Befloxetone • Belsomra •Benadryl • Benylin • Benzedrine • Benzodiazepine• Benzphetamine (Didrex) • Bicifadine • Brasofensine • Brofaromine • Bupropion (Wellbutrin) 3 • Buspirone (BuSpar) • Butriptyline • Carbamazepine (Tegretol, Epitol • Chlorpheniramine • Chlor Trimeton • Celexa •Cimoxetone • Citalopram • Clonidine • Clonazapem • Clomipramine (Anafranil) • Codeine • Cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril) •Cyclizine (Marezine) • Cymbalta• Dapoxotine • Desipramine (Pertofrane, Norpramin) • Desvenlafaxine • Dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) • Dextromethorphan (DXM) • Diazepam • Diethylpropion ) •Dibenzepin • Dienolide kavapyrone desmethoxyyangonin • Diethylpropion • Diphenoxylate Disopyramide (Norpace) • Disulfiram (Antabuse) • Dopamine (Intropin) • Dosulepin • Doxepin (Sinequan) • Duloxetine • Emsam • Ephedrine • Epinephrine (Adrenalin) • Escitalopram • Femoxitine • Fenfluramine (Pondimin) • Flavoxate Hydrochloride (Urispas) 4 • Fluoxetine (Prozac) • Fluvoxamine • Furazolidone (Furoxone) • Guanethedine • Guanadrel (Hylorel) • Guanethidine (Ismelin) • Hydralazine (Apresoline) • Hydrocodone • 5 Hydroxytryptophan • Imipramine (Tofranil) • Iprindole • Iproniazid (Marsilid, Iprozid, Ipronid, Rivivol, Propilniazida) • Iproclozide • Isocarboxazid (Marplan) • Isoniazid (Laniazid, Nydrazid) • Isoniazid rifampin (Rifamate, Rimactane) • Isoproterenol (Isuprel) • Kudzu • L dopa (Sinemet) • Lamictal •Levodopa (Dopar, Larodopa • Linezolid (Zyvox, Zyvoxid) • Lithium (Eskalith) • Lofepramine • Loratadine (Claritin) •Lorazepam• Lunesta• Luvox •Lyrica •Maprotiline (Ludiomil) • Maxalt •Medifoxamine • Melitracen • Meperidine (Demerol) • Metaproterenol (Alupent, Metaprel) • Metaraminol (Aramine) • Methadone• Methamphetamine (Desoxyn) • Methocarbamol• Methyldopa (Aidomet) • Methylphenidate (Ritalin) • Mianserin • Milnacipran • Minaprine 5 • Mirtazapine (Remeron) • Moclobemide • Montelukast (Singulair) • Naltrexone • Nefazodone • Nialamide • Nisoxetine • Nomifensine • Norepinephrine (Levophed) • Nortriptyline (Aventyl) • Oxybutynin chloride (Ditropan) • Oxymetazoline (Afrin) • Orphenadrine (Norflex) • Pargyline (Eutonyl) • Parnate • Paroxetine (Paxil) • Pemoline (Cylert) • Percocet • Pethedine (Demerol) • Phendimetrazine (Plegiline) • Phenergen • Phenmetrazine • Phentermine • Phenylephrine (Dimetane, Dristan decongestant, Neo Synephrine) • Phenylpropanolamine (in many cold medicines) • Phenelzine (Nardil) •Phenibut • Plaquenil •Pregablin •Procarbazine (Matulane) • Procainamide (Pronestyl) • Protriptyline (Vivactil) 6 • Pristiq • Prozac•Pseudoephedrine • Oxymetazoline (Afrin) • Quinidine (Quinidex) • Rasagiline (Azilect) • Reboxetine • Remeron • Reserpine (Serpasil) • Risperidone • Robaxin• Salbutemol • Salmeterol • Selegiline (Eldepryl) • Sertraline (Zoloft) • Seroquel •Sibutramine • Suboxone• Subutex•Sumatriptan (Imitrex) • Terfenadine (Seldane D) • Tegretol • Temaril • Tesofensine • Theophylline (Theo Dur) • Tianeptine • Tizadine •Toloxatone • Tramidol • Tranylcypromine (Parnate) • Trazodone • Tricyclic antidepressants (Amitriptyline, Elavil) • Trimipramine (Surmontil) • Trintellix Triptans • Vanoxerine • Venlafaxine (Effexor) • Viloxezine • Vraylar •Welbutrin• Xananx•Yohimbine • Zimelidine • Ziprasidone (Geodon) • Zoloft SOME herbs to avoid include but are not limited to: • St. John’s Wort • Kava • Kratom • Ephedra • Ginseng • Yohimbe • Sinicuichi • Rhodiola Rosea • Kanna • Boswellia • Nutmeg • Scotch Broom • Licorice Root • Cannabis

**This is not a complete list of medications that can cause interactions with Ayahuasca** Please disclose any medications prior to participating in a Temple of the Four Winds Sacred Ceremony.

Substances that should be avoided include:

• Other MAOIs
• SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)
• Antihypertensive/high blood pressure medication
• Appetite suppressants or diet pills
• Medicines for asthma, bronchitis, or other breathing problems
• Antihistamines
• Medicines for colds, sinus problems, hay fever, or allergies (any drug containing dextromethorphan/DXM, or that has DM, DX, or Tuss in its name)
• CNS (central nervous system) depressants (e.g., Xanax, Ativan)
• Vasodilators
• Antipsychotics
• Barbiturates

Some illegal and recreational drugs are VERY dangerous to combine with Ayahuasca. These include:

• Cocaine, amphetamines, and ephedrine
• MDMA (Ecstasy), MDA, MDEA, PMA
• Opiates (heroin, morphine, codeine, opium)
• Dextromethorphan (DXM)
• Nutmeg

There are other illegal or recreational drugs that can be dangerous to combine with Ayahuasca such as:

• Mescaline (any phenethylamine)
• Barbiturates
• Alcohol
• Kratom
• Kava
• 5-MEO-DMT

The Ayahuasca Safety Council notes that specific pharmaceutical drugs should not be combined with Ayahuasca (some are mild risks, others serious).

Please see the complete list of drugs that are contraindicated for the use in combination with Ayahuasca if you are interested in participating in a ceremony. Also look at our Safety Guidelines for more detailed information about the use of medications with Ayahuasca.

MEDICAL GUIDELINES DOWNLOAD PDF